MacBook - Logging into Main Account Stalls

This is my first question/ post ever so I hope I am providing enough info:
I'm trying to assist my wife with a MacBook (Aluminum from around 2009)
Running OSX v10.6.8 - Intel Core 2 Duo w 2.4 GHz- 4 GB Memory - 250 GB HD (only 6.7 GB available - not sure if this matters)
She had no issues yesterday morning... battery died, plugged into power and left for the day (around 1:00 PM) left it powered on, lid shut, charging.
Around 6:00 PM opened lid and had nothing on screen but the "purple galaxy" space theme picture ....
She did a hard reboot (powered off with power button).
When Login Screen appeared ... She typed her password, then the screen goes into the "purple galaxy / space" theme on screen and doesn't proceed to her desktop.
Today I tried to log into her "Guest" account that does not require a password and can log into that account and have access to that desktop.
I'm stumped as to why we cannot log into her Main Account. I've tried a couple options on start up (holding Command-Option-P-R) and I've tried holding (Shift when it powers on.) The grey screen with the Apple Logo appears, but no chime this morning, until I held Command-Option-P-R.
I've tried powering off and back on with power cord plugged in and without. I've been reading stuff all morning from the Apple Support communities and have nothing that seems to fix the problem.
I'm trying to run a Permissions Repair from the Guest account, but not sure of any other steps to take. Any advice/ suggestions are appreciated.
Thanks!

It's possible the main User account lost the password or admin status.
For Snow Leopard or earlier: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1274
Mac OS X 10.6.8 or earlier, insert a Mac OS X install DVD, restart with the Option key held down, click on it, and use the Reset Password utility.
If you don't have a clone backup it's time to start. Just like a seat belt and an air bag protect you in different ways when driving, you need both Time Machine and a clone for full protection.
Create a Clone backup:
What is a clone backup?
A clone is an exact bootable copy of your internal drive. Unlike standard copying of all files to another drive, the clone software copies hidden files along with other in-use files that are not avaialbe when you copy over files to another drive.
More info on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disk_cloning
Time Machine is not bootable. You can only restore from Time Machine.
Software used to Clone:
SuperDuper! http://www.shirt-pocket.com/
CCC http://www.bombich.com/download.html
Use Disk Utility to clone your drive:
1. Select your new volume (indented) and click on the "Restore" tab.
2. Drag your old volume to the Source field
3. Drag your new hard drive to the Destination field.
4. Click the check box for "Erasing Destination".
5. Click restore at the bottom and it then will start copying over to your new hard drive.

Similar Messages

Can't log into main account and vanished files...?

Hello forums.
Last night I was trying to get rid of some junk on my computer, emptying a lot of files in my Trash. Cleaned up my desktop... everything going smoothly. Turned off the computer.
I realized there was something fishy this morning when I turned my imac (tiger) on, logged onto my main account(admin), and my desktop was the default aqua wallpaper. My dock was still personalized and my documents were still there. Still I went ahead and created another user account under "Budiana" with admin power... so now I have total three users, the Admin (under my real name), Budiana, and my dad's.
I did fiddle around with changing the names, but not the short names... I think that might've caused the problem. I'm a bit of a noob with computers in general...
Anyway, now I can't log back into my main account. The message says "You cannot log in as ___ at this time." and the box "shakes" at me. So now I've resorted to using my second account. Looking in Finder, under Users, I see the three accounts, but none of all my files that exist under the admin. But looking at the bottom of the finder window : 168Gb available disk space, with a total of about 236Gb memory, I don't think my files are actually lost, just vanished somewhere!
I've taken a look at the "lost" home directory support document on the apple website, and tried it, but nothing seems to work. I'm also a little lost..
I've tried resetting the passwords for all accounts using the Tiger disk, but to no avail.
Please help! Thanks a lot.

Well, that account has 40gig of information somewhere.
I see only two folders desktop & library. Maybe something is hidden. See point 3.
1) I suggest you do a total backup of your machine or at least /Users.
Here are two utilities for making a complete backup of your internal hard drive. I've recommend using one of these so that you can create a bootable system on your external hard drive. ( PPC require a firewire connected drive. ) Once created, you can run your system from the external drive. Hold down the option key on your keyboard then power on your machine. This will bring you in startup manager click on the drive image you wish to boot then click on the arrow key to the right.
"Clone, synchronize, backup. Schedule and forget it."
http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html
"SuperDuper is the wildly acclaimed program that makes recovery painless, because it makes creating a fully bootable backup painless."
http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html
You need an external Firewire drive to boot a PowerPC Mac computer.
I recommend you do a google search on any external harddrive you are looking at.
I bought a low cost external drive enclosure. When I started having trouble with it, I did a google search and found a lot of complaints about the drive enclosure. I ended up buying a new drive enclosure. On my second go around, I decided to buy a drive enclosure with a good history of working with Macs. The chip set seems to be the key ingredient. The Oxford line of chips seems to be good. I got the Oxford 911.
The latest the hard drive enclosures support the newer serial ata drives. The drive and closure that I list supports only older parallel ata.
Has everything interface:
FireWire 800/400 + USB2, + eSATA 'Quad Interface'
save a little money interface:
FireWire 400 + USB 2.0
This web page lists both external harddrive types. You may need to scroll to the right to see both.
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/1394/USB/EliteAL/eSATAFW800_FW400USB
Here is an external hd enclosure.
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/MEFW91UAL1K/
Here is what one contributor recommended:
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=10452917#10452917
Folks in these Mac forums recommend LaCie, OWC or G-Tech.
Here is a list of recommended drives:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=5564509#5564509
FireWire compared to USB. You will find that FireWire 400 is faster than USB 2.0 when used for a external harddrive connection.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UniversalSerial_Bus#USB_compared_toFireWire
http://www23.tomshardware.com/storageexternal.html
How to format an external harddrive:
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=11095144#11095144
2)
Macintosh-HD -> Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal
Here is an overview of the terminal commands. Lets assume that your account has a short user name of mac.
Macintosh-HD -> Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal
#How to list all of your disks.
# The ls command is for list
mac $ ls /Volumes/
Audio CD Macintosh-HD Spotless Tiger-ext
mac $
# Let's say your flash drive is named Spotless
# cd is change directory
mac $ cd /Volumes/Spotless
# pwd is print working directory
mac $ pwd
/Volumes/Spotless
mac $
# The ls command is for list
# l is long
# F is type of file where / is directory
mac $ ls -lF
total 134704
-rw-r--r-- 1 mac staff 64560 Mar 3 2009 A-picture-of-Youpi-key.png
drwxr-xr-x 83 mac staff 2822 Nov 7 14:52 Applescript files/
drwxrwxrwx 12 mac staff 408 Dec 13 2008 Christmas Cards/
drwxr-xr-x 9 mac staff 306 Dec 21 17:39 Christmas Cards 2009/
... trimmed ...
What does all this mean?
drwxrwxrwx
d = directory
r = read
w = write
x = executeable program
drwxrwxrwx
| | |
| | all other users not in first two types
| |
| group
|
owner
# l is long
# a is all to show hidden files & folders
mac $ ls -lFa
total 134736
drwxr-xr-x 41 mac staff 1496 Dec 22 17:11 .
drwxrwxrwt 8 root admin 272 Dec 24 13:55 ..
-rwxrwxrwx 1 mac staff 15364 Dec 23 12:52 .DS_Store*
drwx------ 4 mac staff 136 Jan 22 2009 .Spotlight-V100
drwxrwxrwt 5 mac staff 170 Sep 14 16:36 .TemporaryItems
d-wx-wx-wx 4 mac staff 136 Dec 31 1969 .Trashes
-rw-r--r-- 1 mac staff 64560 Mar 3 2009 A-picture-of-Youpi-key.png
drwxr-xr-x 83 mac staff 2822 Nov 7 14:52 Applescript files
drwxrwxrwx 12 mac staff 408 Dec 13 2008 Christmas Cards
drwxr-xr-x 9 mac staff 306 Dec 21 17:39 Christmas Cards 2009
... trimmed ...
# mv is move or rename
mv -i the-name the-new-name
# You can just rename the file back to what it was with mv command.
mv -i old-name new-name
Here is what these commands mean:
cd is change directory
pwd is a print working directory
ls is list
sudo is Super user do
mv is move or rename
For cryptic comments, you can always uses the manual command which is man. For example:
man mv
# Type the letter q to quit.
I noticed that you had spaces in your filenames or directories. You need to escape them. See examples:
mac $ ls -l ~/"see it"
-rw-r--r-- 1 mac staff 3171 Oct 26 23:38 /Users/mac/see it
mac $
mac $ cd /Users/mac/Desktop/ttt\ html\ copy/
Do you know about tabing? Type in a few letters of a name then press the tab key. The computer will type out the rest of the name if it is unique.
How you ignore permissions.
Macintosh-HD -> Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal
sudo ls
change what is in quotes to the name of your program. You need to run this from an administrator account and you will be asked for your administrator password. Type it in. the password will not show. Press return when done.
You can put yourself in root & forget about permission problems via:
sudo bash
type:
exit
when done.
Be careful. I you limit yourself to the ls & cd commands you cannot cause trouble.
3) Macintosh-HD -> Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal
# Show hidden files & folders in finder
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE ;killall Finder
# Normal display. Hide hidden files & folders in finder
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSE ;killall Finder
4) finding large files...
Run
OmniDiskSweeper
"The simple, fast way to save disk space"
OmniDiskSweeper is now free!
http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnidisksweeper/download/
This will give you a list of files and folders sorted by size. Go after things you know that are big.
Robert
Message was edited by: rccharles

I cannot log into my account on my macbook.

My macbook will turn on but once I have logged into my account nothing happens, then after a long delay the screen goes blue and it goes back to the log in screen. Why is this? What can I do? About a week ago it was absolutely fine, then it started freezing for several minutes at a time and now it won't even log in. Can anyone help me?

Booting from the install disk is good, but you might also want to try booting in safe mode.

HT1338 macbook wont update apps. Every time I say to update it say's you must log into the account in which the apps were purchased?

macbook wont update apps. Every time I click the update all button it say's you must log into the account in which the apps were purchased? HELP!!

iPhoto and iMovie are part of the pre-bundled iLife that came with the computer. I believe the problem may result from the motherboard change. Contact Apple Support who should be able to help you.
Apple Store Customer Service at 1-800-676-2775 or visit online Help for more information.
To contact product and tech support: Apple - Support - Contact Apple Support.
For Mac App Store: Apple - Support - Mac App Store.
For iTunes: Apple - Support - iTunes.

Error message: "Logging into the account failed because an error occurred."

Hello,
We had an XServe G5 2.0 DP 5GB/80/2x250 running Mac OS X 10.3.9 Server with all updates as a main server for a school. The server provides Open Directory Master as well as File-Sharing (AFP and SMB) and e-mail services to about 30 teachers and 300 students. The user home directories reside on the server. A web server also runs on the machine. The students use a pool of laptops, which are configured with a local guest and admin account as well as access to the server-based home directories with Directory Access. The server had the OS running on the 80 GB hard drive and all data (Home directories, mail database, website, etc. were on the two mirrored 250 GB drives.) All was working well until...
A few weeks ago, one of the two 250 GB died. We decided to use the opportunity to upgrade the server and set it up with 3 x 750 GB, two drives running as a mirrored pair to hold OS AND Data, the other as a stand-by unit to help replace a failing drive.
We migrated the OS and all data from the previous drives without a problem. Since now, all data is residing on one pair of drives, we put the data from the old "Data" drive in a folder on the root level of the new HD pair. We wrote a script that launches at startup which creates the symlink in /Volumes/Data to link to /Data. We thought that with this, all would be well.
However: When any user tries to log into his account from any iBook (10.3.9 or 10.4.11) (wirelessly), he gets the message:
"Logging into the account failed because an error occurred. The home folder for the user account is located on an afp or smb server. contact your system administrator for help"
If the user logs in to the guest account on the iBook, then accesses his home directory via file-sharing, he can see (read/write) all his data. So, the data and privileges seem to be OK, as well as Open Directory working correctly. Mail and the web work well also, as does logging in to a user account from one of the PC's (wired).
Can anyone make any suggestions as to how to fix the situation? Currently, the users are using the guest accounts and accessing their data via filesharing, as well as using webmail for their e-mail, but this is a major nuisance.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Best regards,
Alain Chammas
A user trying to access his account from a PC (wired) has no problems.

A good number of folks are having problems with this same error message at login, and nobody seems to have found a fix.
I believe I have stumbled upon, if not a solution, at least part of the answer. If you're logged into a 10.4 workstation, open a Finder window and click the "Network" icon. The first time you do this, you'll only see "Library" and "Servers" icons, but if you let it sit for a moment, other folders will magically appear. One of these is "My Network" which is the critical part.
In Workgroup Manager, edit one of your users' home directory configuration. There's a URL piece, usually "afp://server.domain.com/Users" (which is what shows up in the window when you click on the "Home" tab for that user), and then there's a "Home" path that is usually something like "/Network/Servers/servername/Users/username". Trouble is, you've noticed that 10.4 doesn't put servers into the "Servers" path, but rather into the "My Network" path.
So, if you change that "Home" path to read "/Network/My Network/servername/Users/username", it should work--with one caveat. Apparently 10.4 doesn't create the "My Network" path on a given client until you actually browse the network on that client. If you haven't logged into a 10.4 workstation and browsed the network, the "My Network" path won't be there, and you'll still get the error. Login as a local user, browse the network (so that the "My Network" folder shows up), logout, and then login as an Open Directory user, and it should work.
I'm betting that 10.3, 10.4, and 10.5 all handle this issue differently, so if you're in a mixed-version situation, you may have to experiment to find a workable fix.
Derndest thing I ever saw.

Can't log into new accounts created under 10.4.11

Hello,
I normally only have my main admin user account but I have created a couple dummy accounts under 10.4.10 (and/or earlier) for short term use and have since deleted them.
This morning I installed the 10.4.11 update. Later I decided I needed to create another user account for a project. I can create user accounts just fine but when I attempt to log into those accounts, it will not accept the password (or even null password) for the new accounts. It does not matter if the user is admin or not. I have fast user switching disabled.
Any ideas? Thanks.

I temporarily enabled fast user switching and it made no difference.
Can someone else that has updated to 10.4.11 try to create a new user account and then log into the account just for giggles? If you have the same problem, good, in that we confirmed something with the update is hosed.
If you ARE able to create and then successfully log into a new account under 10.4.11 then I know to look elsewhere for my solution.

Verify Your Payment message when i log into my account....

Hi, I found out my iTunes account was hacked last year as a hacker using a trojan horse backdoor program remotely controlled my computer. Long story short...i got a better anti-virus program scanned my computer and quarantined it. However, up until this day, everytime i log into my account, the person keeps playing around with it. They have tried to download music and succeeded. They are trying to buy music on my account but can't and now everytime i log into my account i get the message (Verify your payment). I clikc okay and it sends me to my account information pop up that says right next to my name and address (You must verify your payment before you can make purchases). This doesn't happen all the time and that i how i know someone is fooling around with it. Apple support told me how it will ak you that from time to time just so you keep your information up to date (that will only pop up if you are planning on buying something). Are any of you going through the same problem? And the songs on my album that i bought at the store are all in the wrong order. Is that happening to you to? It was never like that until the last iTunes update.
<Edited By Host>

why would a host be editing my post? Is someone from the Apple company doing this? Why would you have to edit my post? Whta right do you have logging into my account to make changes to anything i make?

When i Log into instagram it say my account is disable but when i log in on another iphone my instagram account log's in. when i try logging into another account it continue to say disable. Why cant i log into instagram or make another one on my iphone?

When i Log into instagram it say my account is disable but when i log in on another iphone my instagram account log's in. When i try logging into another account on my phone it continue to say disable. i also tried to make a new instagram on my phone but it wont let me. i deleted the app over and over again but it still wont let me log into any instagram account. Why cant i log into instagram or make another one on my iphone?
Is is=t possable to have your phone banned from a app forever???
HELP !!

I just asked the same thing and did some research. Some people have said that the UDID code is like banned from instagram, but your account isn't. I'm able to use it on my phone but not on my iPod.

HT1353 Is it possible to have another iCloud login on my unit without me logging into that account?

Is it possible to have another iCloud login on my unit without me logging into that account?
I lost my iTouch4 last June10 after a party. I stayed in a hotel with my team that night when i lost it --- lost in the hotel not in the party. I just got my new iPhone 4S this June25. When i used Find my Phone app i saw that there are 2 devices: ipod (named after one of my teammates) and iPhone (under my name). whne i check the features of my iPhone, the contacts, calendar, bookmarks and apps i downloaded previously on iTunes are sync to what i entered on my iTouch. My teammate told me that he also noticed that on "his iPod" and he dont know why his apple ID was changed to mine.
Is it possible to get that situation? Or is that an evidence that he has my iPod touch 4? I need help to clear things out. Thanks.

- I do not understand what yo are seeing with the FIndMyiPod app. That app can set up to find any iOS device. you just have to enter the Apple ID and passwords used for that device.
- on your computer go to iCloud, sign into your account and go to FindMyiPhone. What do you find?

My Iphone has family emails that appear randomly when I try to update apps or generally have to log into my account. It comes up as my sister in laws address. She was once connected to our account when she got her phone at first. How can I remove?

My Iphone has family emails that appear randomly when I try to update apps or generally have to log into my account. It comes up as my sister in laws address. She was once connected to our account when she got her phone at first. How can I remove? There are only two other email address's associated with my account and hers was never one of them! I do have a cloud set up on my phone. I thought this issue had gone away when I canged my passwords, but I just registered a new phone yesterday and its happening again!
Can anyone help me?

Apps are permanently tied to the Apple ID used to purchase them, and all future updates will require you to enter the password associated with this ID, whether you are currently using this ID for purchases or not. If you are being prompted for your sister-in-law's Apple ID when updating it means that there must be one or more apps on your phone that was purchased using her Apple ID. (When she synced with your computer it may have transferred this app to your library. It was subsequently synced to your phone.) The only way to stop the prompt for her ID is to delete these apps from your phone and your iTunes library and repurchase them using your Apple ID.

How can I reset my iPad YouTube password? I can't sign into youtube on iPad. It says Username or password is wrong although both are correct when I log into YouTube account via Google.

how can I reset my iPad YouTube password? I can't sign into youtube on iPad. It says Username or password is wrong although both are correct when I log into YouTube account via Google. I also tried my husbands youtube login and password and the same outcome. Now I cant log into YouTube via the iPad account. I can log into Youtube via Google however my subscriptions and favorites are all gone. Can I reset the YouTube account located on the iPad? I cant seem to reset the password or delete the app and re-add. I dont want to reset the iPad since I have alot of videos and pictures on it.

Do you have Google 2 stage authentication turned on?
If so, you wont't be able to use your normal google password, but will have to instead generate an "application specific" password for the iPad YouTube app in the google security settings section.

I am trying to backup my iPhone but the email used for my Apple ID has been deactivated so I can no longer log into my account or back up my iPhone. How do I back it up otherwise? Or how do I change my email?

I am trying to backup my iPhone but the email used for my Apple ID has been deactivated so I can no longer log into my account or back up my iPhone. How do I back it up otherwise? Or how do I change my email?

You can update your AppleID info here: Manage your Apple ID
Also check this page for more details about iTunes: Apple - Support - iTunes

HT203433 Hi! I am so stumped with having multiple apple ID accounts now when I try to do an update on my iPhoto app it tells me to log into the account I used to purchase that app. I have tried going into my other accounts. Please help.

Hi! I am so stumped with having multiple Apple ID accounts. I did this not knowing what I was doing and now I can not update my iPhoto app because it tells me to log into the account that I used to purchase it. I thought I was trying to do this but I can't get anywhere.
Please help!
Flora

Hi Florafromco,
You can view your iTunes Store account and request assistance by following the instructions below:
iTunes Store & Mac App Store: Seeing your purchase history and order numbers
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2727
I hope this information helps ....
The following article will provide a little more information regarding using multiple Apple ID's:
Using your Apple ID for Apple services
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4895
I hope this information helps ....
Have a great day!
Have a great day!
- Judy

How can i log into my account if....

So I just got my own account yesterday and was wondering how could I log into my account. I did the process in store, I'm getting a new phone and I don't have a number yet and I didn't receive any information about my account. Does that mean I don't have one or do I need to contact someone to get it or do I have to wait until the phone come to set up an account ?

Account access is important in order to properly manage things. We can help you here. Is this for My Verizon? If it is, you will need a cellular number in order to get through the account creation. If it's not My Verizon, please tell us what it is so that we can help. Thank you.
BobbyN_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport
If my response answered your question please click the �Correct Answer� button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!

HT1727 my itunes account was on my home computer that me and my brother both used. The computer died and we will need to buy a new one. We thought that if we just logged into our account from my laptop all the music would be there, it is not. Can anyone h

My itunes aacount was on my home computer that me and my brother both used. The computer died and we will need to buy a new one. We thought that if we just logged into our account from my laptop all the music would be there, it's not. Can anyone help us?

Go to the iTunes Store and select "Purchased" from the Quick Links side bar on the right. Go through all the tabs to download again for free

MacBook - Logging into Main Account Stalls

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